Diet and ADHD

The other day as I was Pinteresting, I found a pin that seemed to promote eating homemade sauerkraut as a way to help ADHD symptoms.

Interesting.

Worth a look.

The pin lead to an article on Progressive Health.com that discussed ways that nutrition and diet can affect ADHD symptoms.

If you’ve been a reader of this blog for any length of time, you know how close this subject is to my heart. It stands to reason that a brain and body running on premium fuel will function better than one on junk food.

Poor nutrition is mentioned as one of the possible causes of inattention. It is interesting to note that while many people believe that sugar is part of the problem, that is not quite the case. Sugar itself does not contribute to attention problems, but does replace more nutrient dense foods that would support body and brain health.

Also noted is the fact that Americans tend to have very high Omega 6 levels, especially in relation to Omega 3. Omega 6 acids are the polyunsaturated ones; Omega 3 acids are the good ones. If you take a fish oil capsule for your health, you are taking Omega 3.

Food allergies, such as wheat and dairy products, are mentioned as possible causes of inattention problems. In fact, this has been a hot topic in the ADHD community for the past several years and has some validity.

The article spends a bit of time on bacteria and gut health, thus the reference to sauerkraut. Sauerkraut is a fermented food that naturally contains probiotics, which is great for your digestion. For that reason alone, it’s a good idea to incorporate probiotics into your diet.